


Roommates Isn't So Bad

by angellove15



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Bottom Marco Bott, Explicit Language, F/F, F/M, I'll add tags as I update, Jean's POV, Jean's a dork, M/M, Roommates, minor poly relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-30
Updated: 2016-04-13
Packaged: 2018-05-30 03:44:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6407383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angellove15/pseuds/angellove15
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marco was never supposed to be anything more than an irritating introverted kid I got stuck with in Classic French Literature. I kept thinking college was going to suck; the homework, the people, the teachers. Damn, was I wrong. I didn't realize just how big of a change I was in for, how big of an impact Marco would have on my life. He sparked something within me, something that only grew hotter and brighter with every day that passed with him. This is the story of how Marco Bodt made my whole world go up in flames.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Screw French Literature

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there my friends! I am SO sorry for not updating my other story in so long! Lots of events happened that truly prevented me from any work on the next few chapters. But I promise they will be up soon. This lil fic is quite inspired so I hope you like it!! :) Oh, and I did a really shitty job with tagging characters and other stuff in this story so read this anyway and I'll add more later :)

Marco was never supposed to be anything more than an irritating introverted kid I got stuck with in Classic French Literature. I kept thinking college was going to suck; the homework, the people, the teachers. Damn, was I wrong. I didn't realize just how big of a change I was in for, how big of an impact Marco would have on my life. He sparked something within me, something that only grew hotter and brighter with every day that passed with him. This is the story of how Marco Bodt made my whole world go up in flames.

********************************************

"Bonjour étudiants, cela est la littérature française classique." The professor's voice rang out through the classroom. I sank a little lower in my seat. Of all the classes my parents could have stuck me in... Classic French Literature; the class where all you want to do is sleep. Poetry is hella dull and I can hardly keep my eyes open during any poetry I've ever listened to or read, French or not.  
"Let's start off in English. My name is Professor Pixis. Get it? Got it? Good. I feel that most of you probably took French in high school but never took the time to fully appreciate it. Now while in my class..." The professor's voice droned on but honestly I'm just here to pass the class, get the credit and be on my merry way. I'm already perfectly fluent in French, it's quicker to pass through my lips than English; as a matter of fact, if you piss me off enough I can sound exactly like a French sailor, all dignity intact of course. I was raised speaking nothing but French for the first five years of my life, that is, before my mother enrolled me in the hell that is known as school.  
My internal brooding session is brought to a grinding halt when the boy and girl next to me erupt into giggles.  
"Connie! What the hell is that?" A petite girl with dark hair pulled back in a ponytail giggled into her hand. "Is that supposed to be moi?" Pony girl snatched a paper from the boy sitting next to her. He wasn't bald but his head was shaved close enough to call him baldy. His green eyes lit up with amusement as he looked at the paper pony girl had in her hands. Baldy chuckled, "Of course it is! Just look at the resemblance."  
"Nuh uh! I do not have stick hands, I have dragon talons! Raaawr!" Pony girl growled and raised her hands in a mock dragon pose. Baldy bent over the front of the desk laughing.  
"Excuse me you three, is there something you would like to share with the class?" Mr. Pixis's voice boomed through the room as everyone else in the class went silent. He walked down the aisle, stopping at my, Baldy, and Pony Girl's desks. Pony girl flushed pink and Baldy's smile slipped off his face.  
"Uh, um, heh, well you see... I-I-We..." Baldy trailed off under Mr. Pixis's expectant stare.  
"They were just saying how excited we are to be in this class Mr. Pixis." I drawl out. Shit... I really need this credit and all chances of passing just went out the window... Oh well, even if I'm not technically involved with them I'm already gonna hate the class, why not make the teacher hate me too?  
Mr. Pixis stood there for a moment, obviously deciding whether I was worth the lecture he wanted to dish out. "Okay then, you won't mind coming up in front of the class then would you?" He grinned - sadistically, if you ask me - and stalked back up the aisle.  
I sigh and roll my eyes. Pushing my chair out, I stand and follow Mr. Pixis. "Good luck dude." Baldy whispers from behind me. Turning around I shoot him my classic fuck you, your mother, and your existence look. Pony girl's face contorts in amusement. "Hey, if looks could kill you'd combust Connie." "Shut up Sasha!" Connie whisper-yelled.  
"Are you coming... I didn't catch your name?" Mr. Pixis stood up next to the board. Reaching him, I turn around, facing all 82 other people in the room. "My name is Jean Kirschtein," I grind out between clenched teeth. My stomach was already queasy, now it felt like my innards are trying to claw their way out of my abdomen.  
"Okay, John," I clench my jaw at him purposely adding the hard J. "I want you to read this to the class." He grabbed a book off his desk and flipped it open to a page near the middle.  
I know my face is visibly getting redder and redder. I must look like a tomato by now.  
I have a major phobia of public speaking. Ever since I was a junior in high school and had to do a speech in front of everyone in the auditorium; which was the whole. damn. school. That had NOT been a fun experience. I had started off hella awesome; dressed in a button up and my only tie, I had made sure my attire was fit for red carpet wear. My speech had been about addressing the bullying policy at Trost High. If there was one thing I hated more than liars it was people who put others down just to feel good. I had got about halfway through when I looked up and Eren fucking Jaeger and his cronies were laughing and pointing at me. At first I had just shrugged it off, the suicidal asshole had had it out for me ever since I'd asked Mikasa out in 6th grade. But I just happened to glance up and there, just above me, were three buckets suspended in air by thin wires and concealed by the stage curtain. My head had whipped around to look at Eren just as the buckets tipped and thirty gallons of old cafeteria food coated my body. Curdled milk, spaghetti, pizza, lettuce, condiments, juice, and more stuff I didn't even want to consider had soaked through my clothes and seeped into my shoes.  
I remember every excruciating detail, down to the way my legs began to tremble as the whole auditorium erupted into laughter. Tears had filled my eyes and I flew off the stage. It took 2 hours for Armin and Reiner to get me to stop crying and another 3 to get me off of the locker room shower floor. Ever since then I avoided large crowds and well, pretty much any social interaction at all.  
“John, if you could read sometime before class ends that would be superb." Mr. Pixis's sarcastic comment jolts me back into reality and out of my memory. I'm standing in front my 82 peers with a book in my hands, mouth hanging slightly open, and my face so red they must think I'm about to have a coronary. When the hell did I get a book?  
"Uhuhem..." I clear my throat and look down at the page. "Uhem..." I clear my throat again for good measure. Reading through the first few lines, I try to put on my best poker face.  
However, when I glance back up I see him. Sitting one row ahead of my seat - which I'd purposely picked because it was in the back. I don't know what it was that really caught my attention. Maybe I'm just a freak, but there he was. His brown hair parted carelessly down the middle, as if by habit rather than styling; he sat forward on the desk, cradling his head in his left hand. His dark eyes meet mine and for a moment I think I see his face go a little red. He drops his gaze to quickly to look at the desk. His neatly trimmed bangs falling to cover his eyes.  
Feeling all too smug from my sudden boost of confidence, I roll my shoulders, stand up straight, and hold the book up. Taking a deep breath, I begin.  
"L'amour est l'emblème de l'éternité;" The first few words roll off my tongue with ease, "il confond toute la notion de temps, efface toute la mémoire d'un commencement, toute la crainte d'une extrémité." As I reach the end of the script, I find my eyes once again trained on the mysterious boy I'd found earlier.  
He was staring at me with a mix of amusement and awe. I drop my own stare back to the book, feeling the tips of my ears turn red from embarrassment. Who the hell did this guy think he was? Looking at me like that... Damn. "Good job, John! Wonderful enunciation and pronunciation." Pixis boomed in my ear. His large hand clapped my shoulder and I had to grit my teeth to stop myself from snapping at him. "Now, if you could, would you mind translating that to English for us?" His hand fell from my shoulder and he looked down at me expectantly. I had to fight the sudden urge to literally growl at that old fuck.  
"Love is the emblem of eternity; it confounds all notion of time, effaces all memory of a beginning, all fear of an end." I have to force my eyes not to wander to mystery boy's face. Instead I choose to glare a hole through Baldy's head. He sinks down into his seat more as I don't look away.  
"Wonderful job, John. Take your seat and then I will explain the rest of the project."  
I shift on my feet awkwardly for a moment before moving to take my seat. The back of mystery boy's head somehow captures my attention again and I tune out everything Pixis is saying. Mysterious hunk has a bunch of freckles on the back on his neck... I wonder if he has more on him. While I'm totally not drooling over what might be thoughts of broad shoulders Pixis's nasally-ass voice buzzes through my daydream in the back of my mind. What the hell is up with me? I haven't been this worked up over someone since high school. Thanking whatever god of awkward halfies in class that i wore a sweatshirt and my letterman jacket that day; i tug the sweatshirt down a little and sit up. Buttoning the bottom two buttons of the jacket to at least add a small block to direct view and allow a slight feeling of discreteness - even though deep down I know it's not really helping. "Sasha Blouse and Connie Springer." I flinch as Baldy and Pony Girl high-five and snort obnoxiously. "Hannah Diamant and Fritz Kefka." Oh fuck, he's naming off partners. This means team project. What the hell is up with my luck lately?! I don't work well with others. "John Kirsten and... Marco Bodt." I'm about to deck that old asshole right now. "M’kay, you have your instruction on what to do. I want it in 3 weeks, on that Wednesday class. You are dismissed." Everyone stands around me as I sit dazed in my seat. The mystery guy from earlier turns around in his seat and looks directly at me. He opens his mouth as if to say something but I stand, cutting him off and turning too quickly for him to get a word in. I hurry up the aisle and to the right towards the door, not looking back. I make it halfway down the hall and into the torrent off college kids before I hear angry cries of people as he pushes his way through the crowd, "Hey, wait!" He calls. Psh, whatever. There's a reason why I live like 5 minutes away from this class. Pushing open the door I step out onto the sidewalk leading to The Square.  
I share a living space with Reiner Braun and Bertholdt Hoover in a main suite above the regular dorm rooms. There are three good sized bedrooms, a decently big living room and a workable kitchen with a stove, a small fridge, and 3 cupboards next to a sink. The sparsely decorated living room held a leather couch with one blanket that usually smelled a little funny. Next to it sat a love seat covered in blankets. At least ten different sized blankets made up the outline of what used to be the comfy couch. We have a 62 inch flat screen that I brought with me along with my Playstation, 4 boxes of different games and CDs, and another 2 full of movies. I don't have much in life but I treasure my movies and gaming system.  
I turn towards my dorm building and half sprint up through the doors and into the lounge. Petra greets me with a cheerful smile but I just shove past her desk and head towards the elevator.  
Pushing the up button once then twice for good measure I tap my foot impatiently. The elevator finally arrives and it dings as the doors slide open, I step inside and hit the 3rd floor button as the doors slide smoothly closed behind me. I wonder absent-mindedly if Reiner and Bertholdt are even home. They're probably getting ready for theater rehearsal. They have props and costume building from 3 to 8 every other Thursday and Wednesday.  
The elevator doors open once again and I step out into the hallway leading past Annie Leonhardt's 2 bedroom suite and Ymir Meade and Christa Lenz's 1 bed flat. When I reach the last door I have my key to unlock it but as I twist the knob I find the door's already unlocked.  
"We're home Jean!" I hear Bertholdt yell from behind the door. "Yeah, come on in Pony-Boy." Reiner chimes in when I open the door and slip my shoes off next to the door. Reiner comes from behind me and cuffs me on the shoulder, my torso shifting as his massive palm hits it. "We have some bad news for you. So prep your bitch face." Reiner's face tries to take the "Father Figure" look but he completely messes it up when his face cracks into a huge grin. He opens his mouth to tell me what's going on but Bert interrupts him. "What Reiner means to say is he talked to Annie and we're moving into the apartment next to us. She wants to spend more time with us and it's a mutual feeling." I can feel the disbelief and almost anger at the sinking feeling of my stomach showing on my face. This means there's going to be two empty rooms in our apartment... That I can't afford to pay for. Which means new tenants. New people. Fuck.  
Bertholdt can only smile sadly; albeit a little sheepishly actually, at my expression as he waits for me to gather my thoughts to speaking ability. "I'm sorry Jean, but this deal is too good to pass up. You’re getting new roommates, but don't worry too much. One of them is a close friend of mine and Reiner's. His name is Marco and he's a good kid so be nice to him." Bertholdt gives me what could only be described as 'the mom' look. "Hey! Just because I'm a little snappy in the morning doesn't mean I'm gonna abuse this guy. You act like I kick puppies." Reiner laughs and claps me on my shoulder again. I stifle the manly and rugged squeal that threatens to escape. Man that guy really doesn't comprehend his strength. I think my shoulder might be dislocated. "And the other guy is Connie Springer. Annoying as hell but loyal to a T. Bald and yea tall." Reiner holds his hand to his shoulder, so about 5'9. "Feel free to bully him but no major roughhousing. He's from a line of high-end military folk. So Jeann-y boy, he will kick. your. ass." He emphasizes his last three words with a not quite sucker punch to my left arm. Definite chance of bruising. "I know Connie, he's in my Lit class I just came from. I just met him today and I can already tell he's a little fuck boy. I don't like this guys. I hope you know this." I give Bertholt my malnourished puppy look and he looks sad but firm.  
"I am not a fuck boy, and Reiner's not wrong. I will kick your ass, bro." I hear a familiar voice come from behind me. Turning, I see none other than the little shit from earlier. "I'm sorry we got off on the wrong foot. It sucked that Pixis did that to you, but thanks for saving my ass. Can we start over?" He holds out his hand for me to shake. I contemplate showing the true extent of my foot-in-mouth abilities and just blowing off the handshake, however something in me makes me want to try to be nice to the guy. So I reach out and shake his hand firmly. "Yeah man, we're cool. Just know where we stand, the Playstation and tv are mine. You're welcome to both and Netflix, but respect all my discs. Put them back in the cases please." I grin at him and he nods in return. "I'm taking the room closest to the front door. So that leaves Marco the middle room." Connie says as he shifts the duffel bag off his shoulder and into his hand. "Marco... Marco, why does it feel like I've heard that name a lot lately? Like, everywhere guys." I say, feeling like there was something blatantly obvious about the name nagging at the back of my mind. I swear that I had met or at least talked to a guy named Marco at some point. "Well, you can find out if you know him in about three minutes. He's coming over to check out the apartment right now." Reiner says as he clicks his shitty iPhone screen to blank.  
"Wait, another person? Are you and Bertholdt staying here to introduce me to said new person?" I ask Reiner, raising my brow as what feels like slight panic rising in my chest. Bertholdt only sighs softly and goes to pick up the lone tote next to the door. "No, Reiner and I are dropping this off at Annie's and then going to theater practice. We still have three-quarters of a set to build-" "And less than 3 months till production night." Reiner finishes his taller boyfriend’s words as they head for the door. "Remember, play nice and discuss room payment and boundaries. Marco's a cool kid so have fun, use protection and lots and lots o’ lube!" And then they're gone, leaving me with Connie and his duffel bag, along with my steadily rising blood pressure. "Yeah, I have to head out too. I have my job at The Grind. My friend Sasha will be waiting to run up my tab at work." Connie reached the door just as there's a soft knock. Connie turns around and shrugs at me, giving me the raised eyebrows of 'I kind of know new guy so be nice' look.  
"Why does everyone assume I'm going to eat this dude?" I mutter as I shuffle my feet walking over to the door of my room. "It's like they expect me to be a douche." I feel like I should be almost personally offended but instead I'm more towards slightly amused. Maybe I'll give this dude a shot just for the hell of it.  
I lean against my doorframe and turn my gaze back to the door just as Connie opens it. My heart flutters in my chest; stomach dropping to the floor as I take in who's standing in my doorway.


	2. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco meets Jean and gets settled in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long, my Beta was taking forever to get back to me with their notes :( But here is my chapter 2 :)

Huffing irritably, I step out of the elevator and try to soothe my fried nerves. Looking ahead I see Bertholdt following Reiner into Annie's apartment. Reiner spies me first.  
"Hey, Marco!" Reiner turns and greets me with a side arm bro-hug. Bertholdt appears next to him and gathers me up in a quick but warm embrace. "Your new roommates are in the apartment still. Work the rent, room placement, and everything out with Jean." He says, his words gentle like his personality.  
"Alrighty, I will. I'll see you two later. I just want to get settled in and go to bed." I manage the pitiful excuse and a weak smile. "Aw, hon you look dead on your feet. Go get nested down in your new home." Bertholdt says while he pats my arm in a motherly fashion. Reiner grins and claps my shoulder. "Yeah man you look like shit. Go grab some z's and catch us later." I nod and they both turn and go inside the apartment, the door shutting with a soft click behind them.  
I sigh again and head down towards my new living space.  
After my French partner took off like there was a fire lit under his ass; I have to say I'm a little irritated. What a jerk, totally oogling at me up in front of everyone then taking off right when I had an excuse to talk to him. He was so embarrassed earlier, his face bright red up to his undercut. At first he'd looked dazed, but after looking at me he'd gotten a soft smirk. Hiding behind his fray of obviously dyed hair as he read. His voice was so tenor and melodic. His French was beautiful, the way he carefully articulated and shaped each word.  
Argh!! 'Marco you need to stop, you want a good start with your new roommates,' I tell myself, taking in a few deep breaths. I hear soft voices coming from behind the door in front of me. Evening out my face in a comfortable smile I raise my hand and knock on suite door. The voices go quiet and my heart thunders in my ears. I almost feel anxious.  
That is, until the door swings open to reveal Connie Springer. I can feel my face stretch into a grin.  
"Hey there, Connie! Are you my new roommie?" I ask as he fist bumps my waiting hand. "Yeah! Me and Jeanny Boy over there." I take my eyes off Connie's face and follow his thumb. My anger from earlier flares slightly as I see the guy from French leaning against a bedroom door frame. His brows were furrowed and his gaze, more like a glower, as he took me in.  
Who the hell was he to look at me like that? Like I was invading his turf or something.  
"Heh, yeah. Urm, Marco, this is Jean Kirschtein. Jean, that's Marco Bodt. Have fun!" Connie slips out the front door and Jean shoves away from his spot over on the doorframe. He gets about three feet away from me and holds out his hand awkwardly.  
I don't want to seem rude (I am going to be living with him for the next ten or so months) so I take up his hand in mine, giving it a firm shake and letting go. I wonder if he even remembers that it was me that he ran out on earlier.  
"I'm sorry for, uh, running out on you earlier in French Lit. I was kinda in a hurry to get here." Jean has the decency to look a little sheepish and his cheeks have a pink tint.  
Well... He remembers.  
Plus he's kinda sorta really hot so I'll let him slide. Just this once.  
"Nah, don't worry about it. I understand. Besides, now that we're roommates, doing the project will be like, ten times easier right?" I grin at him and he smiles back. Some of the tenseness leaves Jean's shoulders and I feel myself relaxing. Something about him already made me feel at ease.  
"Yeah, totally. So, you're in the middle room. Which is right here," Jean walks past me and towards the center door. When he reaches it he pushes the door open and I see the interior of the room is quite plain. There's a full sized mattress on a box spring in a low to the floor frame. The comforter and pillowcases were a grey and blue striped pattern. There was a wooden desk over in the corner across from the bed. Next to the desk was an empty closet with a black hamper inside and a few bare wire hangers that hung on the bar. There's a lamp in the corner next to my bed and that's everything in the room save the plush navy blue carpet below my feet. It was perfect.  
"This is totally killer!" I exclaim as I walk over to the desk and slide open a drawer. Inside was only a pen and a pad of yellow legal paper. Typical.  
Shutting the drawer I walk over to the bed and plop down. It's quite cushion-y and I can't wait to take a nap. I glance over the room and lock gazes with Jean. His eyes widen slightly and his face flushes a light pink. "Y-Yeah. It's cool. Reiner and Bert never really slept in this room that I know of. I think Bertle washed the sheets and shit. So yep, you’re good." Jean rubs the back of his neck and looks at me through his eyelashes. Obviously embarrassed about something.  
Holy hell he's so cute.  
'Whoah there, Marco, definitely time to get sleep. No need for your deprived thirst to fuck shit up with your roommate when you just met him less than a half hour ago.'  
I let out a half hearted chuckle to try to relieve some of the tension between us. "Yeah, I'm gonna get some sleep and we can hang out and talk over everything later. That work for you?" He nods at my words and turns toward the living room. On his way out he looks over his shoulder and adds, "Oh yeah, dinner will be done about 5, just a heads up. I'm making macaroni ‘n cheese shit. Tastes okay if you want any." And then he's gone with the click of the door latch behind him.  
Letting out a sigh I hadn't realized I'd been holding in, I flop back on the pillows. “Maybe this won’t be so bad. I mean, one of my friends is living with me, and my other room mate is kinda hot.” I thought to myself as I sink into the mattress.  
Man did I need this nap. My mother had woken me up this morning and I truly didn't want to even leave the house. But we had to pack up everything I wanted to take with me. There hadn't been very many boxes and there were a few totes. Most of my stuff was my XBox one, games, movies and my mediocre Sony flat screen. Bertholdt had told me that the bedroom came with furniture so I hadn't bothered buying a new mattress. He had made a point to tell me that they never slept in the room; implying no sweaty sex on the bed I'd be sleeping on.  
This morning my mom had insisted on taking me over to see my aunts on the way up from Jinae. They lived about twenty minutes from Trost University. I had spent my entire four years at Jinae high school waiting for the chance to get out of the small, cramped town; filled with even smaller minded people. My aunt Luna had lived in Jinae for her whole life, gone to church and knew everyone by name. But when she turned 17 and met my aunt Krystal she realized that she was in love with a girl. My grandmother and my mother had accepted my aunt right away. But my grandfather had kicked her out of the house. Said he didn't want someone so sinful staining his household. Aunt Luna left with Aunt Krystal that same day. They bought an apartment in Trost City and have lived happily there for 19 years. They are still just as much in love as when they first met. Seeing them always puts me in a good mood. The way that they care so much about each other is so amazing. I hope to find someone to love like that someday. Completely and wholly with my entire being.  
Whew, my thoughts just got deep. I bring my hands up and rub my face. Rolling onto my side, I pull the soft fleece blanket from the foot of the bed up over my shoulder and tuck my arm under the pillow. It's about one in the afternoon, so if I go to bed now I can sleep until at least four thirty and still make it out there for whatever concoction Jean was throwing together. It was probably going to taste like shit but whatever. Food is what keeps you alive and alert when you're in college. You take naps whenever you can fit them in because otherwise you'll end up slumped over your textbook with a terrible crick in your neck the next morning.  
I nuzzle closer to my pillow and close my eyes. Letting the darkness of my eye-lids lull me into much needed sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed that!! Let me know what you think! Drop a kudos or a comment below!!

**Author's Note:**

> Dun dun daaa!!! Take that my lovelies!! Chapter 2 will be from Marco's perspective! Take it or leave it :3 Found out what happens next in heartfelt drama sometime within the next few days :D please feel free to leave a comment or a kudos! Both are loved and appreciated!


End file.
